Allyl alcohol has been prepared by a number of different methods. Most prominent among them are the rearrangement of propylene oxide (French Pat. No. 1,496,221) and the hydrolysis of allyl chloride (Japanese Pat. No. 70-10,126) and allyl acetate (Japanese Pat. No. 73-10,767). The latter two methods particularly are suitable for preparation of a variety of allylic alcohols.
The liquid phase methanolysis of allyl acetate under the influence of metal alkoxide and hydroxide catalysts has also been described (German Pat. No. 1,939,142). With this method, however, the catalyst is gradually consumed in side reactions and is not conveniently recycled.